walkingwithfandomcom-20200222-history
Walking with Dinosaurs
''Walking with Dinosaurs ''is a six-part dinosaur television documentary mini-series that was produced by the BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in the United States on the Discovery Channel with the Branagh's narrationwo replaced with that of Avery Brooks. The series uses computer-generated imagery and animatronics to recreate the reign of the dinosaurs, beginning in the late Triassic period and concluding in the late Cretaceous period at the K-T boundary mass extinction event, 66 million years ago. The Guinness Book of World Records reported that Walking with Dinosaurs was the most expensive documentary series per minute ever made. Blurb Imagine you could witness a prehistoric sunset - imagine you are watching insectivorous pterosaurs chase moths in the moist evening air and bull Triceratops lock horns over a young female. This is no longer a dream. Walking with Dinosaurs makes that distant world as real and natural as images from today's Serengeti. Tracing the 160 million-year history of dinosaurs, from their first appearances to their abrupt demise, this series marks a watershed in television imagery. Classic natural history techniques, leading edge computer technology and animatronics combined with the latest scientific findings, recreate the sights and sounds of an endlessly fascinating era. Walking with Dinosaurs brings to life the mystery and excitement of the age when these reptiles roamed our planet. Episodes Companion book A companion book written by Tim Haines was published in 1999 to coincide with the series. Like there are six episodes in the documentary, there are six chapters in the book however, there are some notable differences. Some of the locations were changed in the book (e.g. New Blood is set in Ghost Ranch in the book rather than Arizona in the documentary). The book also elaborates on the background of each story and the book goes more in depth into the science on which the series is based on. The book also includes descriptions on the creatures that were featured in the series but were not identified and even creatures that were not included in the series. Deviations from the series *At the end of the episode New Blood, a Plateosaurus frightens away a Coelophysis. In the book, a Postosuchus attacks the herd and loses. Near the end of the episode, the Coelophysis gather around a waterhole. In the book, this happens earlier. In the book, the first thing to happen is the Postosuchus attack. *In the episode Time of the Titans, the female Diplodocus lifespan shown was: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. In the book, it was: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 12 years, so the Diplodocus age faster in the book. In the series, the Allosaurus attack occurs on the 3rd year. In the book, it occurs on the 4th year. The Stegosaurus kills nothing in the book. *In the book, the Liopleurodon attack from Cruel Sea occurs much later, the Cryptoclidus catches a Rhamphorhynchus rather than a fish, and the female Liopleurodon does not appear. *Unlike in the episode Giant of the Skies, Ornithocheirus cannibalism doesn't occur in the book. In the series, the lead female Utahraptor attacks the Iguanodon with no injury, whereas in the book, she is injured by the thumb spike; also, the book describes the Utahraptor attack as an attack by a large group, not just a family. Additionally, in the series the Tapejara ignore the Ornithocheirus, while the book, they try to drive it off, and later on, where in the program Ornithocheirus is driven off by the Utahraptor hunting, in the book it is driven off by turtles inhabiting lake, absent from the program. *In the book's chapter Beneath a Giant's Wing (or Giant of the Skies in the documentary) the flowering shrub's name is Protoanthus (a fictional plant)Walking with Dinosaurs - Fact Files, while on the show it was unnamed. *In the episode Spirits of the Ice Forest, the lead female Leaellynasaura is killed by the allosaur, while in the book, she dies of frostbite (in the book, the allosaur ate a subadult male), and is eaten by Koolasuchus at the end of the chapter, instead of the beginning, as in the program. In the book, all the Leaellynasaura chicks survive, and the Muttaburrasaurus don't get lost. *''Dromaeosaurus'' and ornithopods are not featured in the book, unlike in the episode Death of a Dynasty. The Quetzalcoatlus gets eaten by a group of Deinosuchus in the book after a futile struggle, while the television program features only one Deinosuchus and the Quetzalcoatlus escapes without fighting back at all. In the show, Didelphodon is eaten by the female Tyrannosaurus; in the book, by a male, who eats the eggs itself. Also, in the program, the male Tyrannosaurus presents the female with a dead Triceratops, while in the book it is a Torosaurus - the same one that was seen on the program with the broken horn. Finally, in the program the Ankylosaurus hits the female Tyrannosaurus just once, while in the book, it beats the female to death; also, in the book, the Ankylosaurus is a female with a pair of "scutlings" as well, unlike the program. ''Arena Spectacular'' A live theatrical adaptation was created in Australia and began touring in early 2007 (starting in Sydney's Acer Arena, and continuing to Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide & Melbourne). Coming from the mind of William May, the show features life-size mechanical dinosaurs operated by teams of puppeteers and drivers as well as music by James Brett. It was produced by Malcolm C. Cooke & Jill Bryant and directed by Scott Faris. The leading role of the paleontologist (Huxley) was played by both Bruce Spence and Felix Nobis in the original Australian version. The role of Huxley is currently played by James Roberts & Jonathan Bliss. Featured creatures *''Allosaurus'' *''Ankylosaurus'' *''Brachiosaurus'' *''Iguanodon'' (carcass) *''Liliensternus'' (note that this dinosaur never appeared in the series) *''Ornithocheirus'' *''Plateosaurus'' *''Stegosaurus'' *''Torosaurus'' *''Tyrannosaurus rex'' *''Utahraptor'' Film adaptation *See also: ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' (film) Walking with Dinosaurs is a family film produced by BBC Earth that was released in theaters on December 20, 2013. Scientific inaccuracies One of the main criticisms about Walking with Dinosaurs is the amount of scientific errors it includes. *There is no evidence that Coelophysis was a cannibal. It has been recently found that the animals found within one of the Coelophysis specimens was in fact a small crocodilian. *''Plateosaurus''' forelimbs were not designed to be used of walking but as this discovery was uncovered after Walking with Dinosaurs aired, this error is excusable. *''Diplodocus'' could never reach maturity in only a decade. The minimum amount of time for Diplodocus to reach maturity is roughly forty years. *''Ornitholestes'' lacked a nasal crest. *''Liopleurodon'' never grew up to 25 metres in length nor weighed 150 tonnes. The largest species of Liopleurodon, L. ferox had a maximum length of 6 to 7 metres and had a maximum weight of two tonnes. *''Anatotitan/Edmontosaurus'' lacked a head crest (though this was proven only in 2013). Censorship In the initial U.S. broadcasts of the series, a few scenes were omitted from some of the episodes. The most notable deletions were a shot of the Thrinaxodon pair devouring their offspring, and a scene where a dead-in-shell Tyrannosaurus embryo is preyed upon by a pair of Didelphodon. The DVD and VHS contains the original UK broadcast, so the omitted scenes were restored. Critical reaction In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted on by industry professionals, Walking with Dinosaurs was placed 72nd. The series won three Emmy Awards, including Best Animated Program (For More Than One Hour). Related Media ''Prehistoric Planet'' In 2001, a series called Prehistoric Planet was created. It was an edited version of the series narrated by Ben Stiller targeted to younger audiences, and it aired on the Discovery Kids channel. Though all episodes of season 2, except for the finale, used footage from Walking with Beasts. ''Andy's Dinosaur Adventures'' Another series targeted to younger audiences that used footage from the series. References Navigation Category:Series Category:Walking with Wikia Category:Walking with... trilogy Category:Walking with Dinosaurs